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Happy Healthy Us recently organized a fundraising initiative for a local Chicago furniture bank called Sharing Connections. Sharing Connections is a nonprofit that was established in 1986 and is dedicated to giving household items to those that need them. The people helped by Sharing Connections include the recently homeless, the unemployed, and those impacted by natural disasters.
I had the chance to talk to Sharing Connection’s founder, Leeanne McGrath to get a better idea of how the organization works. Through partnerships with local companies, Sharing Connections has been able to provide the community with difficult to attain household items. Sharing Connections is also one of the only completely free furniture banks operating in the area. They provide items ranging from chairs and tables to even mattresses and bed frames. The latter, I was told, were provided free of charge by a local mattress company. The organization also accepts donations from generous individuals in the community. Many of these furniture items are used, and are meticulously cleaned and touched up by volunteers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made housing insecurity even worse. Many people who have housing can’t afford basic furniture items like chairs and beds. On top of that, common household items like linens and towels are in high demand. With this in mind, Happy Healthy Us targeted its fundraiser towards these items. Our generous community was able to donate a large number of linens, towels, pillow covers, and blankets.
The work done by Sharing Connections is truly impressive. If you would like to hear more about the organization, please visit https://www.sharingconnections.org/.